Janet shielded her eyes from the sun. The bright light was blinding compared to the dimness of the plane. She was exhausted from the flight. Everyone else had left for Chicago yesterday and she had been put in charge of finding the lost luggage.
Letting out a sigh, Janet thought about the woes of being a tour manager.
It was exactly what she wanted to do but sometimes it could be trying. Especially when she was the glue that held the tour together. She did everything to making sure the equipment was where it was supposed to be to supplying the guys' quirky little requests before each show.
It seemed to take forever to hail a cab and get to the venue. She checked her watch and smirked. If traffic wasn't too bad, she would have just enough time to eat.
Walking into the arena, Janet breathed a sigh of relief to see the stage was set up and all the lighting seemed to be in place. She rushed backstage and set her bags down.
"Thought you'd never make it. Find all the lost luggage?" Todd, the lighting engineer, asked.
"Yes after hours and hours of arguing with the airlines that our flight was to Chicago and not to St. Louis. I swear, sometimes you wonder if people have brains," Janet replied.
"The guys are looking for you. They're at the food tent," Todd said.
Janet groaned. She had been in Chicago for less than an hour and already those five were whining about something. They can so freaking spoiled sometimes, Janet thought.
She made her way to the food tent to find JC and Justin chowing down on whatever the cook had made that day for dinner.
"Hey Janet! You made it!" Justin said through a mouthful of food.
"Yes, I made it. I'm here to do your bidding," Janet said sitting down on a bench. She spotted Joey and Chris in the catering line. "Where's Lance?" she asked.
"He's around here somewhere," JC said.
"Todd told me you guys wanted something. What?" she asked.
"Someone gave us the fax with names for the Meet and Greet. It was for you but somehow it ended up with us," Justin said.
"Crap. I need that. You got it on you?" Janet asked.
"I think so," Justin said, checking his pant's pocket but with no success. "I'm sorry. I think I left it in the kitchen on the bus. I'll go get it."
"No, don't. You guys have the show to get ready for and Lance needs to eat before the Meet and Greet. Leave it to him to go wandering around," Janet said shaking her head.
"You sure you don't want me to go get it? You haven't even put your bags up," Justin said, referring to her duffle by her feet.
"That's ok. Just put this in your dressing room," Janet said, kicking the bag and leaving.
Janet stopped by the dressing rooms on her way to the bus. Lance was nowhere to be found. She cursed under her breath. Where the fuck was he? She didn't have time for this.
The tour bus was parked behind the stadium. It seemed like a mile to walk out to it. "I really need a shower," she said to herself. She pushed open the door to the bus and wrinkled her nose. No matter how many times it was cleaned, the bus still managed to smell like a fraternity house. It was just the fact that five guys lived in it for days on end.
Janet stomped her way to the back, looking for Lance. She passed the bunks, some of the curtains thrown open, sheets hanging out. Fuck it, she thought, when she found the bus empty. If he didn't have enough time for dinner, too bad. She hated to think that way about him. He was always so nice to her. But right now, she was in a pissy mood and didn't have time to chase around looking for the missing boy band member.
Janet walked back to the front of the bus where the kitchen was located. She pushed through the opened bags of chips and pretzels and finally found the list. Looking it over, she turned to walk out. A groan came from further back in the vehicle.
Janet stopped to listen. It sounded like someone or something was in one of bunk beds. She crept back, cocking her head to listen better. She could hear sheets ruffling. Another groan was heard. It came from Lance's bunk.
Is that Lance? she thought. Wait a minute. If he's getting it on with some girl, I'm going to kill him. This stuff could wait till after the show.
Her fingers curled around the hem of the curtain, ready to throw it back and bust him. This wasn't the first time she would have to interrupt one of the guys' reindeer games for things more important.
"Ohmigod. Janet," she heard. It was definitely Lance. Interesting, she thought as a smile played on her lips, he picked up a girl with my name. Too bad for her that she won't be able to finish what she started, Janet thought.